• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, April 6, 2011

More than one-quarter of iPhone, iPod touch and Android users plan to buy a car in the next year and nearly eight in 10 (78%) will use their mobile device as part of the process.

That finding comes from a new study by mobile ad network Greystripe based on data collected from 851 mobile users over a three-month period ending February 15.

According to the survey, 15.6% of mobile users plan to buy a new car in the next year, and another 10.4% will buy a used car. So 26% of the total are in the market for a car in the next 12 months. Another 60% say they're considering getting a car in the next year. More than half (55%) that are buying are looking at both foreign and domestic models.

The proportion of iPhone and Android users planning to buy a new car is three times that of the 5.5% of the U.S. adult population, according to data from MarketingForecast.com cited by Greystripe.

When it comes to how people use their phones in connection with car-buying, the study found nearly half (48%) use them for doing initial research on a purchase.

Nearly the same proportion (44%) use their devices for price comparisons on the lot, 32% to find a dealership, and 23% for contacting dealerships or sellers. More than one-fifth (22%) don't use smartphones at all in the car-buying process.

The automotive industry is typically among the first to experiment with new interactive ad formats and technologies. That's no different in relation to mobile advertising. Greystripe said spending from the category on its network more than doubled in the last year. The company doesn't break out spending by industry, but said automotive is one of the largest categories on its network.

A separate recent report from Millennial Media said automotive spending on its mobile ad network increased more than sixfold in the fourth quarter from a year earlier -- more than any other industry vertical.

Greystripe also points to mobile initiatives within the auto industry such as GM adding the ability to link to OnStar's mobile app to 14 new models including Chevrolet, Buick and Cadillac. Separately, Hyundai's new luxury sedan comes with an interactive iPad instructional manual.

"Touch-based, rich media ad campaigns and custom mobile apps will be the biggest trend in automobile marketing for 2011 and 2012," said Dane Holewinksi, the company's director of marketing.